英国文学史梗概.docVIP

英国文学史梗概 I. Anglo-Saxon period A. History a. 5th century B. C.: The earliest inhabitants of the British islands —Celtics, one tribe of which, Bretons, invaded the Great Britain and settled there for nearly 500 years. b. 55 B.C.: Roman conquest by Julius Caesar brought the ancient romantic culture. c. The Anglo-Saxons—a branch of the Germanic tribe expelled the Celtics to the remote areas of the north and the west. Their mother tongue was the prototype of the modern English. England means the dwellings of the Anglos. d. The latter half of the 7th century: The first poet of the Britain—Caedman was born. e. Around 8th century: The first well-preserved epic—Beowulf emerged. 9th century King Alfred’s reign greatly enhanced the development of the English culture. f 1057 Scottish king Macbeth died. Several hundreds years later, Shakespeare created the famous tragedy with him as the protagonist. g. 1066: Norman Conquest. As a result, French replaced English as the official language and dominated the literary creation. The resumption of the English as the mainly used language was after the English and French Centurial War 300 years later. B. Literature a. Epic: “Beowulf”—Beowulf, a hero, killed Grendel, a sea monster (thought to be the offspring of Cain, first murderer in the Genesis. Its artistic forms, such as kenning and alliteration had a great influence upon the poets that followed. b. Layamon’s “Brut” recorded the legends of King Arthur and it was also an important sign of the resumption of the English language. II. Medieval period. A. Geoffrey Chaucer: “The Canterbury Tales”, a collection of short stories depicting realistically the panorama of 14th century England. His style of writing was fluent and humorous, and his thoughts even surpassed his contemporaries. His sharp perception of human nature is the basic cause of his permanent charm and popularity. B. Some major events in the 15th century contributing to the Renaissance: a. Religious reform led by Martin Luth